


loved more than just the game

by paladincoolcats, whatthequiznak



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Football, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Basically the small town au that nobody asked for, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Other, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Slow burn Klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8115742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paladincoolcats/pseuds/paladincoolcats, https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthequiznak/pseuds/whatthequiznak
Summary: Keith Kogane hated football. But somebody makes him fall in love with it again. And has him head over heels, so, so madly in love. Hint: It's Lance.





	1. so much history in these streets

“Hey, Keithy-boy!”

 Keith froze as he shut his locker, turning toward the voice, “I told you to stop calling me that.”

“You say that like I’m actually going to stop calling you it,” a slow smile spread across a tawny face.

“What do you want, Lance?” Keith gave his own dark hair a few irritated tugs. The boy in front of him, Lance McClain, was the one person who specialized at driving him into insanity.

“You coming to the game tonight?” Lance wiggled his eyebrows, stepping closer to Keith and leaning against the lockers next to him.

“Do I ever go to the game when you ask?” Keith deadpanned.

“Well no-” Lance began.

“Then there’s your answer.”

“Keith, come on. You used to love football,” Lance kept getting closer into Keith’s personal space, but Keith’s finger against Lance’s firm chest halted the invasion.

“Used to,” Keith repeated. “Why do you even want me to come so badly?”

“I want you to see me in action! I’ve gotten way better than we were in little league. 

Little league. _First grade_ little league when Lance had given Keith a juice pouch, told him he looked like a girl, and declared them friendly rivals.

“Doubtful.”

“That’s rude.” Lance had always been a master at pouting.

Keith smirked and turned away from Lance, causing the boy to follow him, “Plus, I’ve already seen you in action. If action is what you consider falling down on your face.

“I did that one time!”

“Three times,” another voice called from a few feet away.

“I thought we were friends, Hunk!” Lance bellowed. “Traitor!”

The larger boy across the hall shrugged his broad shoulders, and Keith resisted the urge to laugh at Lance’s bottom lip sticking out as Hunk fixed the bandana tied around his head, “You still fell on your face at practice last week.”

“You guys are the worst,” Lance’s lip stuck out even more.

“Aww, poor baby,” Keith smiled.

“That’s rude, Mullet. That’s really rude,” Lance pouted and Keith rolled his eyes. “Hard to believe someone as pretty as you is so rude.”

“Shut up.” Keith simply sighed. He was more than used to Lance’s excessive flirtations. Lance flirted with anything that breathed. The warning school buzzer alerted them they had two more minutes to get to their next classes, so Keith turned away from the two bickering football players.

Hunk could _probably_ snap Lance’s neck in an instant. Lance was tall, but Hunk was taller and bulkier. Granted, Hunk was a massive softie and would sooner crush someone from hugging them than he would purposely harm them. Due to this, Lance was on his toes with his eyes narrowed and his hands flailing in Hunk’s face. Keith figured it was a good time to escape. But he was wrong.

Lance moved in front of Keith, stopping him from walking, “Please come to the game.”

“Why?” Keith sighed. “Why the persistence this week?”

“I got you a ticket.”

Keith eyed the slip of paper in Lance’s hand before glancing to Lance’s hopeful expression, “I don’t want to go, Lance.”

“But-”

“Give it to another one of the girls or boys you flirt with.”

As Keith pushed passed Lance, he didn’t have to turn back to see sad, dark blue eyes to feel the disappointment radiating from the boy.

x

It wasn’t that Keith didn’t want to go to the game, he wanted to watch and support the football team. They all were so kind to him, always went out of their way to talk to him and joke with him. And he appreciated that, considering not many people even acknowledged him. It was just that football _hurt_. He didn’t want to be around it, much less watch an entire game. Why did Lance even want him to go to a game? He hadn’t seen Lance play since middle school. Why was he inviting Keith of all people? Instead of all the other girls and boys he flirted with. Lance thought he was so smooth, everyone just tolerated the dopey pickup lines. And it wasn’t that Lance was annoying, persay, he mostly just flirted for fun. Or occasionally Lance wouldn't even know he was flirting.

He was already rather well-known from football, but he also would bring his mother’s homemade tamales every Wednesday and share them with everyone. He even saved a special one just for his friends - and the last few weeks Keith had begun to be included in the gifting of special tamales.

However, he still didn't go to the game that night, but the team won. Keith congratulated Lance the next Monday, and the way Lance’s face lit up told Keith that the boy hadn't been too offended at Keith’s absence.

Lance still continued to pester Keith, as he did, for the rest of the week. Yet luckily, he didn't mention football again until the day of the game. Keith was in biology, a class he just so happened to have with Lance. Thankfully, upperclassman and football quarterback Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro, had a free period and came to visit the biology teacher. Lance was close friends with Shiro, which could more often than not keep Lance at bay unless they _both_ came to talk with him.

For most of the class Lance bounced about the room, eagerly talking about football plays and eventually distracted himself with shooting rubber bands at Shiro when the handsome boy came to visit. But five minutes before class ended, Keith’s luck ran out.

“Dreaming about me again, Kogane?” Lance smiled, sliding into the seat next to him

“You wish, McClain,” Keith smirked.

“Pretty boys shouldn’t be so mean, Mullet.”

Keith rolled his eyes, fighting off the blush that tried to rise in his cheeks. Lance’s flirting was ridiculous, but it occasionally got to him nonetheless, “What do you want, Lance?”

“Why won’t you come to a game?” And they were back at it again

“You know why.”

“Keith, I know you miss them-”

Keith abruptly yanked so far back away from Lance, he nearly collapsed from his seat. _No._ He wouldn't discuss that, “Don’t.”

“You used to love football,” Lance said, softly.

They didn’t say anything for a few moments and Keith clenched his fists, “Are you ever going to leave me alone about this?”

“Probably not!” Lance beamed, mood shifting again. “I got you another ticket.”

“Lance-”

“Just one game, Keithy-boy,” he leaned in, handing Keith the ticket. “Let the game remind you how much you love football.”

“I hate football.”

“No, you don’t,” Lance genuinely looked upset. It made Keith feel stupidly guilty. The bell rang before Keith could respond though, and Lance was smiling again. “Okay. So you're coming. Great!”

Keith gaped as Lance stood, and he scrambled to his feet as well. They walked out of class, Keith hot on Lance’s heels, and Lance turned to the other boy so abruptly that they nearly crashed into each other.

“You still never answered why you won’t leave me alone about this,” Keith demanded. “And I didn't say I'd come yet.”

“Come to the game and find out,” Lance beamed again.

“You little-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just make sure you come to the game,” Lance winked at him before backing away. “You can sit in the announcer’s box with Pidge.”

Keith glanced down at the ticket that had been shoved into his hand. He stared at it and he looked at the scribble on the back of it. _For Pretty Mullet Boy._ A blush invaded Keith's cheeks. He shook his head and looked up to find the hallways practically empty. Lance had darted away unnoticed.

“Who the hell is Pidge?”

x

At approximately 6:43, he found out exactly who Pidge was. Pidge was an honor student, one that outsmarted all of the schools technicians constantly. She was originally named Katie Holt, but her brother started the tradition of calling her Pidge and it just stuck. The small girl was peeking out of the announcer box shouting Keith’s name. Keith walked up the bleacher steps and approached her.

“You _are_ Keith, right?”

“Yeah, you must be Pidge?”

“Yup! You're in here with me for the night. Best seat in the house.”

“Right,” Keith nodded, he knew this.

He followed her into the box and sat in one of the chairs. He frowned.

“What's the matter, frowny face? Lance said you were kind of a grump.”

“That's mean. Lance doesn't even know me.”

“What's with the frown?”

Pidge didn't even look at him, fiddling with the microphone instead. He watched her and he watched the boys stretch out on the field. Keith quickly found Lance, seeing as he was the only lanky boy running around in circles. A much bigger man, Keith quickly recognized him as Hunk, was chasing Lance. The coach blew the whistle and they stopped. Lance took his helmet off and was laughing, Hunk did the same so he could glare at his friend.

“How'd you meet Lance?” Keith asked, not answering her previous question.

“We met a couple years ago. I was his tutor because he was failing a science course and I hated him,” she stated simply.

“Sounds like Lance.”

Pidge gave a snort of a laugh, “I met Lance when he was going through a rough time in his life. He apparently saw me as a good friend to confide in. I eventually just gave into it. He's a pretty cool guy.”

“You sure we're talking about the same guy?”

“He's an annoying little shit, don't get me wrong,” Pidge paused so she could look out at him. “But he's like a brother to me and I wouldn't trade him for anything. And don't you dare tell him I said that. It'll go to his head.”

“With a head that large, I'm surprised they found a helmet to fit it.”

“They had to special order it.”

Keith laughed loudly, surprising himself. He liked Pidge. He could see himself being easy friends with her. He watched the scoreboard tick down and he looked out to see all the cheerleaders and band lining the field. Nostalgia filled him and he glared out at the field. If Pidge noticed this time, she didn't say anything, as the players had run back out on the field and he vaguely heard Pidge speaking quickly into the microphone.

Upon the Lions winning the coin toss, the players got into formation and Pidge continued announcing. They got a few plays in and Keith’s breathing was beginning to accelerate. It was so… good to be there, watching football like he had done years before. But it hurt. And it made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

“I don't even like football,” Keith tried to keep his voice even. “I don't even know why I came.”

Pidge smirked, “Because you like Lance.”

That certainly snapped his mind away from the past, “No?! No, that's definitely wrong!”

“So defensive!” Pidge laughed.

“Shut up,” and Keith really wished he was incapable of blushing.

Pidge snickered as she turned toward the game, flicking on the microphone so she could narrate the next play. Keith hesitantly turned back to watch the game through the windows of the announcer box.

With a lovely spiral, Shiro launched the ball a good 55 yards. That boy had an _amazing_ left arm _._ Lance twisted out of a blocker’s grasp and he was so _graceful,_ Keith had never seen a player so graceful. It was like Lance was waltzing, bounding. He jumped for the ball, catching it in his gloved hands, and landed with such a balanced stance, cleats digging into the turf of the endzone. And the crowd cheered. _Keith_ wanted to cheer.

“And that catch from number 21, Lance Sanchez, that's the first touchdown for the Voltron Lions!” Pidge practically bellowed into microphone with a surprising force for someone of her size. It was clear she was excited, too, smacking off the microphone and whirling to Keith.

Keith stared out the window and he felt something clench in his chest. He _loved_ football, he always had. He had repressed it but watching Lance catch that ball brought back all kinds of feelings, along with brand new ones he wasn't ready to admit. He watched and Lance chest bumped with Hunk. A blush dusted his cheeks as he gently reached forward to touch Pidge’s wrist.

“Pidge,” he said, looking at her.

“Yes, future Brother-In-Law?” She smirked, knowingly again.

“I love football.”

Keith chose to ignore the future brother-in-law comment as she replied, “I know.”

The game continued on with Keith silently cheering in the announcer’s box and Pidge doing it through the microphone. Halftime neared and there were five seconds left in the second quarter. The players seemingly wandered around for those last five seconds. The buzzer sounded signaling the end of the quarter.

“And that sound ends your second quarter with your hometown Lions at 21 and your visiting Sharks with 7,” Pidge said in the mic. “Please stay for our amazing halftime show presented by our very own marching band, and if that doesn't tickle your fancy, the blue building by the entrance is a concession stand.”

She flicked off the mic and stood, glancing to Keith. He was staring out the window, watching the band line up. He noticed Pidge standing.

“Do you not announce the second half?” He asked, standing too.

“No, they've got some other schmuck doing it. That way I can chill with the band after they perform. My brother is the drum major.”

“Your brother?”

“Matt Holt,” she nodded, before clearing her throat, switching to her announcer voice. She shouted out the window so Matt could hear her, “The one and only, band of Lion’s drum leader, Matt Freaking Holt.”

The few crowd members started to cheer and Matt turned around, glaring at the announcer box. Pidge waved out the window and he shook his head with a smile before turning back to what he was doing. Pidge snorted in amusement, and Keith chuckled at her as well.

“Should we get closer to watch the band?” Keith asked.

Pidge arched a brow, “You aren't going to bail to go get food or something?”

Keith shook his head, “Nah, I don't know anyone else here really and I'm not going to go off alone. If you're tired of my presence already I'll probably just go home.”

Pidge playfully punched Keith’s arm, “ _Not_ what I meant. I was just surprised you wanted to watch the band. Halftime is usually when everyone goes pee and gets food.”

“Bands have badass halftime shows,” Keith smiled.

“Hell yeah they do.”

The two ended up at the edge of the entrance onto the field, watching over the gate as the band prepared to perform.

A flash of dark skin and white hair was suddenly before them as the lead cheerleader of the Lion’s was leaning over the fence, “Hello, Pidgey! You did a wonderful job announcing.”

Keith was mildly shocked, because even though he held no sexual attraction for girls, he could still appreciate their beauty, and the girl before him, the girl he believed was named Allura, was fucking stunning.

Blue eyes were underlined with pink L’s for Lion’s, and her fall cheer uniform showed just how _strong_ she was, despite her slender form. From Keith’s basic knowledge, she was dating Shiro in the whole cliche quarterback head cheerleader type of romance, but regardless they were a kick ass power couple who were insanely kind but also had the power to murder someone with their pinkies.

“Thanks, Princess,” Pidge grinned widely. “You did wonderfully at cheering, as usual! If only I was allowed to narrate that as well.”

Allura laughed, turning her attention onto Keith, “And this must be Keith. Lance is going to be ecstatic that you're here, he's been going on and on about-”

But the girl was cut off by a drum rolling, and she immediately whirled around excitedly. Both Pidge and Allura seemed just as excited about the band as they did the game. Keith didn't blame them, the band was putting on a killer show, and their marching was practically perfection. However, he found it a bit odd that Allura would blow kisses to Matt whenever he’d exaggeratedly march their direction with his baton.

Keith found it even _more_ odd when Allura bounded out onto the field after the show and removed Matt’s shako to plant a kiss on his mouth.

“Grooooss,” Pidge sneered, but her tone was fond.

“But…” Keith rubbed at his nose in confusion. “Is she not dating Shiro?”

“Allura? Yeah, she's dating Shiro,” Pidge arched a brow.

“She's making out with your brother!” Keith exasperated.

“Keith,” Pidge explained slowly. “Polygamy is a thing. It exists.”

Keith’s brow was still scrunched, “Polyga- oh. _Oh._ ”

“My brother has a girlfriend. But he also has a boyfriend. Just like Shiro has a boyfriend and a girlfriend, and Allura has two boyfriends.”

Keith had no idea how he could have missed it. Matt was laughing as he tucked Allura’s hair behind her ears and placed his shako on her head.

“That's… that's good. That's really good for them.”

“Yeah,” Pidge agreed. “They're grossly adorable. What you're seeing right now is actually kind of censored. Usually they're a lot more affectionate.”

Keith lifted his eyebrows, “Even Shiro?”

“Jesus, he's probably the worst of the three. He won't ever let you think that he doesn't care about you. But I guess it's alright because if you're ever upset he gives great hugs. And he's a good step stool if you need to reach high places,” Pidge purses her lips. “Then again so is Allura because she's a pro at hoisting people into the air.”

Keith laughed, “Maybe because you and your brother are actually very small.”

 It was evidently the wrong thing to say, because Pidge stepped on Keith’s foot, “Perfect height to kick your ass, Kogane.”

“Noted,” Keith gave a small groan of pain.

“Now, let's go meet the losers in the bandroom before we watch the final quarter. Allura and Matt usually book it back out to the field as soon as they can go support their quarterback.”

In the band room, they found Allura standing outside the band locker room while Matt changed out of his band uniform. From a distance and with Matt in uniform, Keith couldn't get much of a look at the boy. But when a boy who looked almost identical to Katie came out and had to stand on his _toes_ to kiss Allura, Keith blanched.

“What's up, Pidgey?” Matt grinned as he slid his fingers with Allura’s. “Great job in the box, loud mouth.”

“Nice _baton_ twirling, unicorn hat,” Pidge puffed up, and Allura laughed.

“Matt, this is Lance’s friend Keith,” Allura introduced the sheepish Keith standing behind Pidge.

“Hey,” Pidge corrected. “He's my friend, too, now.”

“Hello Keith, it's good to finally know who McClain has been rambling about for weeks on end,” Matt held a hand out for a first bump. Keith obliged. “Are you staying for the rest of the game?”

“Yeah, it's been a good game so far.”

“It has! Our Shiro is _killing_ it out there.”

“The entire team is doing wonderful,” Allura chuckled.

“Okay, true, but… _Shiro,”_ Matt squeezed her hand. “Shiro is my favorite player.”

Allura laughed, “I don't know, I’m a pretty big fan of Hunk.”

“I'm telling our boyfriend.”

Allura was suddenly scooping Matt into her arms, and Keith was certain that she had enough muscle in one pinky to break a bone, “Let's go watch our boys.”

The rest of the game was still extremely eventful. Pidge was just as animated and loud _out_ of the announcer's box as she was in it. Matt and Allura didn't sit with them, as Allura still had to cheer and Matt went onto the track with her.

Keith was surprised to find that he was enjoying himself. The adrenaline, the crisper air, HOW everyone seemed to come together just for the sole purpose of supporting the Lions. Lions ended up winning 49-15.

Pidge was so ecstatic at the final touchdown that she quite literally climbed up Keith to cheer above the rest of the crowd. Keith let her sit on his shoulders, laughing at the smaller girl. She was perhaps one of the most interesting people he had met.

After the game, Keith was still relaxed and happy until Pidge was dragging him towards the football locker room. And then he realized with an anxiously pounding heart, that he was about to face Lance McClain.

x

“So should I just wait for him out here or?” Keith asked, nervously.

“You can always go in the locker room,” Pidge smirked.

“No!”

Pidge laughed, “Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Keith, do you want me to wait for you?” Pidge repeated, gentler.

“Yes,” he admitted, softly.

“Lance and Hunk are normally the last ones out of the locker room. So we might as well get comfortable.”

Keith nodded and watched the door to the locker room. The rest of the football team filed out of the building to meet with their families and go home. He watched as Shiro came out of the locker room, his hair damp and messy from shower. Matt and Allura were bolting for the quarterback before Keith was aware of what was happening, Shiro suddenly had an armful of Matt as Allura flung her arms around them both. It put much smaller Matt beaming down at Shiro, his legs wrapped around the larger boy’s waist, one hand stroking Allura’s hair while the other rested on Shiro's shoulder. Shiro kissed them both one at a time, and Keith looked away. It was so precious, but at the same time he felt as if he were imposing on something intimate.

But then Matt was back on the ground, Allura in the middle as the three held hands and continued walking away from the locker room. Matt was excitedly gushing about how well Shiro had done, bringing up one of the plays that happened to score a touchdown, and it caused Shiro to have a slight blush. Allura waved to Keith and Pidge as she walked passed. Keith waved back.

“Pidgey, do you have a ride home?” The cheerleader called.

“Yeah, Princess. Hunk or Lance can give me a ride home since my brother is a loser.”

“Hey!” Matt frowned. “You can totally ride with us but I always get shotgun so you're either going to witness me leaning into the back seat to kiss _someone,_ it honestly depends on who drives.”

“I’ll walk home before I witness you gross lovebirds,”

Allura seemed to be preparing to promise they would keep the PDA to a minimum, but Shiro suddenly noticed Keith, and he immediately pulled his partners to Keith, “Keith, you came!”

“Yeah,” Keith said, scratching at the back of his neck. “Figured it might shut Lance up.”

“That’s doubtful,” Pidge muttered.

Allura and Matt snickered as Shiro gave a happy smile, “Well I know he was looking forward to you actually coming. Are you guys waiting for him?”

“Yeah, gotta make sure he knows I was here.”

“Good, hopefully we’ll see you again at the next game.”

“I-” Keith started but the trio was already turning away before he could finish. Matt had moved on to praising Allura for her cheering as Allura insisted Shiro had missed out big since he'd been unable to come back out for the halftime show.

Keith sighed instead and turned to find the sidewalks and most of the parking lot empty. He looked at Pidge, about to ask if they had missed them while they were talking to Shiro, Matt, and Allura, but before he had the chance, he heard a loud bang. He whipped his head around to find Lance and Hunk laughing as Lance stumbled out of the locker room. He landed on his still padded butt and he laughed harder. Hunk reached down to help him stand as he laughed too. Lance leaned into his friend and Pidge cleared her throat. The duo looked over to find Pidge and Keith standing there.

“Keith!” Lance said, scrambling up the small hill toward him. “You actually came!” 

Keith almost forgot how to speak. He knew he was gay, like super gay, but if he didn’t know that by now, Lance in football pants probably would have turned him. His gray cut off pulled out of the black pants and exposed a small strip of his bronze skin, his hair was a little messed up from sweat and his helmet. Lance smiled widely as he approached him and he hugged him close.

  
“Yeah, I’m here. And currently being covered in your gross sweat,” Keith said, trying to push the boy off of him.

“Sorry,” he laughed, running a hand through his hair and stepping back. “I didn’t think you’d actually show up.”

“You have so much faith in me.”

“You literally told me that you weren’t going to come like five different times.”

“He has a point,” Hunk said, standing next to Pidge.

Pidge smirked and Keith shrugged, “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Did you see me catch the ball in the endzone?”

“Was that before or after you got tackled and your face hit the turf?” Keith smiled, deviously.

“Okay, rude.”

“Can you give me a ride home, Hunk?” Pidge interrupted. “Because it looks like _YOU_ showered and I don't want to smell Lance the whole way.”

“Sure, Pidge. Let’s go,” Hunk laughed.

“But I want to-”

“Let them talk by themselves. You meddle too much.”

“I do not!”

They continued bickering as they walked away. Keith watched as Lance walked over to pick up his shoulder pads and helmet before coming back to him. He nudged Keith’s shoulder with his.

“You enjoy the game?”

“Yeah, you did really well.”

“Thanks, I already knew that.”

“You make it impossible to give you a compliment, are you aware of that?”

Lance simply laughed and together they walked to the parking lot. They ended up next to Lance’s car talking about the game, and Keith surprisingly felt at ease. It felt so simple to talk about how fantastic the team was, to bicker about how many times Lance had been tackled to the turf, but of course only to smooth it over with a compliment.

They sat on the hood of Lance’s dented and rusting car, and Keith genuinely felt happy. Before Keith knew it, the parking lot was practically vacant and the lights on the field were starting to shut off. There was finally a lull of silence where they simply watched moths swarm in the parking lot lights, and Lance yawned.

“Keith, I’m really glad you came tonight. Thanks for supporting me and the team.”

“It was fun hanging out in the announcer’s box with Pidge too. She’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty awesome.”

There was a beat of silence again, “I think I’m going to head home. I'm getting tired.”

“Yeah, me too. Kind of played a football game tonight.”

“Kind of fell on your face tonight.”

“I’ll make you fall on your face tonight.”

A blush went straight to Keith’s cheeks and he coughed awkwardly, “Anyway.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry. I’m really tired, I don’t have a filter. I-”

“Do you have a filter when you aren’t tired?”

“Good point,” Lance smiled and Keith snorted. “I’m going to head out. Good night, Pretty Boy.”

“Good night, Football Boy.”

Keith smiled as he turned away, walking toward his bike. He felt something flutter in his chest and he pushed it down. He reached his bike and reached for his helmet, lifting it above his head. He paused when he heard Lance call his name.

“There’s another game next Friday,” he yelled through cupped hands, despite them being only about 25 feet away from each other.

Keith could see Lance smiling before he called, “That’s nice.”

“You should come.”

“Not a chance, Football Boy.”


	2. something inside me's changed

It was Friday again. Keith was sitting in his bed, staring at his computer screen. He felt his phone vibrate.

 **Are you going to the game?** The message from an unknown number read. It vibrated with another one. **It's Pidge, btw.**

 **No, I'm not.** He sent.

**Joke’s on you. Matt and I are at your house.**

**What.**

He heard the doorbell ring and he knew his aunt would answer it. He lingered in his doorway until he could tell who it was. Sure enough, Pidge’s voice carries down the hallway.

“We're here to pick up Keith for the game.”

Keith inwardly groaned and pulled his jacket on before slipping his boots on. He walked down the hallway and sat Pidge and Matt standing with his aunt in the doorway.

“Oh there he is!” His aunt said with a smile. “I didn't know you were going to the game.”

“Yeah, I didn't either,” he shot Pidge a dirty look and she beamed at him.

“Well have fun, sweetie.”

“Come on, let's hurry,” Matt said. “We need to leave early so we can get a good seat.”

“He just means a seat up front so he can stare at his girlfriend and boyfriend,” Pidge smirked.

“I fully admit to that.”

Keith smiled in amusement and he followed the Holts to the car. He sat in the back while the siblings continued bickering back and forth. There was a lull in conversation and Keith decided to speak.

“Pidge, how'd you get my number? And my address?”

“She hacked the school’s mainframe,” Matt said, proudly. “And the firewall.”

“Please. Like it's hard,” Pidge scoffed.

“Impressive,” Keith responded. “Why didn’t you just ask me?’

“That’s no fun,” the girl replied, propping her short legs up onto the dashboard.

Keith snorted for a laugh and Matt glanced in the rear view mirror at him, “So Keith. What do you think of Lance?”

“Lance?” Keith questioned hesitantly.

“He's the reason you're coming, right?” Matt asked, but he looked to Pidge for confirmation. The girl nodded her head smugly.

“I'm coming because Pidge is a little bit terrifying and it's probably better to just do what she says,” Keith interjected.

Matt gave a surprised bark of laughter, “While you are 100% right-”

“Hey!” Pidge moved to punch him, and Matt gave a startled squeal.

“You're scary, okay!”

“I can't _imagine_ what would make you say that,” Pidge replied pleasantly.

“Oh maybe because when I was nine, you filled my bed with worms while I was sleeping,” Matt’s voice raised several octaves.

“You ate the rest of the cheerios! I wanted them!”

“That doesn't mean you fill a person’s bed with worms!”

Pidge huffed, and Keith couldn't help but giggle. He enjoyed listening to the siblings bicker. About an hour later of jibes shot back and forth between the Holts while Keith remained amused in the backseat, they arrived at the stadium. The parking lot was already nearly full and both sides were lacking in seats. Keith spotted a sign that said Homecoming and immediately understood why Matt was so intent on arriving early.

The drum major practically dragged both Keith and Pidge from the car so he could lock it, and then he was striding away. Granted, he had rather short legs, and Keith had no problem keeping up, but Pidge was impossibly shorter and she was basically running alongside them.

They followed Matt to a spot on the bleachers, and Keith stood awkwardly nearby until Pidge pulled him down to sit next to her.

“We still have like an hour before they even come on the field. But at least we’re pretty close to the field.”

“I have a perfect view to the keepers of my heart!” Matt stood suddenly, pulling off his green and black hoodie, their team’s colors, to reveal that he wore a white shirt with a large green heart with Shiro’s name and jersey number as well as Allura’s name with little pink pompoms.

“Oh my god,” Keith covered his eyes. “Secondhand embarrassment?”

“They're the worst,” Pidge agreed. “You should see Allura and Shiro on band day.”

Pidge decided to criticize the announcers music choice, as it was blaring quite loudly over the stadium speakers, and she talked quite a bit to her brother about things Keith wasn't involved in. Or, she did until the cheerleaders came out onto the track. The two siblings cheered loudly for the cheerleaders and Allura beamed over at them, blowing Matt a kiss. Matt swooned, pretending to faint into Pidge.

“You know, I will never understand how a girl like that could like someone like _you_ ,” Pidge said to her brother as she shoved him off of herself.

“Okay, wow. Rude.”

“I just mean that by high school movie logic,” Pidge continued, and Keith snorted in surprise. They both very well knew that those movies were invalid, but Keith could tell the girl just wanted to torment her brother. “The band geek doesn’t get the head cheerleader nor do they get the quarterback. And you somehow managed to score both.”

Matt paused for a moment, thinking, “You know, you’re right. That is kind of weird.”

“How’d you guys even get together anyway?” Keith asked.

“It was a group project that we were assigned in Coran’s class, ironically. One of those projects that we can’t just work on in class, we had to spend time with each other after class,” Matt started. He paused to give a small laugh, “And let me tell you, for a boy who was still trying to figure out his sexuality, hanging out with two of the hottest people in our school was not a brilliant idea.”

Keith snorted again, “I can see where you’d have some trouble there.”

“Right? But anyway. We ended up becoming really good friends and then suddenly I walk into a fight happening between Shiro and Allura. It was like a week away from the project being due and they were arguing with each other. So I walked in and asked what was happening and it turns out they were fighting over _me_.”

“He never lets them live that down either,” Pidge muttered to Keith.

“They were arguing on who got to ask me out when the project was over so they kind of put it on me. Allura was just straight up and was like ‘if you had to pick between Shiro and me on who you wanted to date, who would it be?’ And naturally I’m just frozen.”

“Then he pipes up in this teeny tiny voice,” Allura’s voice sounded from the fence, causing the trio to turn to her. “And he goes ‘can’t I just have both of you?’”

“It’s not my fault you two couldn’t figure out that polygamy was an option.”

“You still asked in the tiniest voice though. It was so cute,” she beamed. “He still uses it when he needs something from a higher shelf that he’s too short to reach.”

“Allura!” Matt whined.

Pidge laughed loudly and Keith smiled. Allura to lifted her hands in the air, “It’s not my fault you’re a shortie.”

“Why do you always pick on me when Shiro isn’t here?” He pouted.   
“So he can’t stand up for you.”

“You’re so mean.”

Allura fondly rolled her eyes, “Come down here a second.”

Despite the bickering, Matt immediately walked down to stand in front of her and leaned over the fence. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and she smiled fondly to him. Keith and Pidge couldn’t hear their conversation due to the fact that they weren’t yelling across the stands anymore. Pidge started fiddling on her phone and Keith looked over to find the Lions were jogging onto the field to begin warming up. Keith almost immediately spotted the tall, lanky boy with number 21 on his back. Following Lance was Hunk, and Lance seemed to be gaining in speed as he ran away from the larger man. Hunk tackled him to the ground and they rolled off each other. Lance took off his helmet for a moment and Keith could see that he was laughing. Keith briefly wondered if they did this before every game.  

But then Matt and Allura were both screeching, and Keith spotted Shiro, number 5, jogging over to the fence. He gave a quick peck to Allura and leaned over the fence to kiss Matt as well.

“Coach Coran will squish me down to Matt’s height if I don't get back out there and warm up, but you two were too cute to resist,” Shiro explained. He waved to Pidge and Keith. “Keith, glad to see you!”

“What the shit Shiro,” Pidge bellowed. “I'm present too, you know!”

“Yes, but it's just kind of an unspoken rule that you come to the games. I’d be offended if you didn't,” Shiro reminded, pointing sternly with his prosthetic.

Matt suddenly gave a startled yelp, desperately trying to shield Allura despite his short height. A football was spiraling fast for them, and Shiro twisted just in time to snatch it from the air.

“You're so precious,” Allura giggled, leaning around Matt to kiss him on the cheek. “Shielding me even though I could probably catch that spiral with ease.”

“I'm going to go harass whoever threw this,” Shiro sighed, giving his lovers each one last quick kiss on the nose. “Cheer hard, Allura. And of course you too, Matty. I love you both!”

“Allura has to cheer for everyone but _I_ can cheer only for you,” Matt teased. Shiro laughed, standing and gazing at them with, gross in Keith’s opinion, fondness for a few more moments, but then he was running back onto the field.

Keith turned his attention back to Pidge, “Have you ever seen something so sappy?”

“Those three are at my house literally all the time,” Pidge huffed. “You haven't seen sappy yet.”

“You poor soul…”

Matt eventually came and sat back down with them once Allura was all but dragged away from the fence by her fellow cheer team, and Matt plopped himself down by Keith, rather than next to Pidge.

“Okay. Real talk. Doesn't Lance have the flattest ass you've ever seen?”

Keith choked, and Pidge groaned, “Stop, there are young ears here you two!”

“I'm just saying! I mean, I'm not judging his body, he is who he is, but the boy is a stringbean and he literally doesn't even have a butt he's just-”

Keith was certain he was going to faint, “Matt, I don't- I’ve never-”

“Now, Allura and Shiro, they've-”

“ _Stop!”_ Pidge clambered over Keith to shove her way between the two. “Leave my friend alone, you idiot, he doesn't want to talk about butts.”

Matt laughed, “Sorry. I promise I don't frequently talk about butts either, Keith, but after watching my boyfriend and girlfriend jog away from me it left me feeling sad and I needed to think of something to cheer myself up.”

“You're gross,” Pidge gave her brother a light shove. “You're actually just trying to bond with Keith, but that's not the way to do it so try harder.”

“I have the meanest baby sister,” Matt pouted. “Such a savage little Pigeon.”

However, Keith and Matt did manage to strike up a conversation about band after Keith had asked if Matt played the drums and Matt launched into all the duties of a drum major - Keith was honestly stunned to learn that one of the duties was _not_ playing the drums.

“Then why is it called a drum major if you don't play the drums?” Keith asked in exasperation.

“Okay, so I _can_ play multiple instruments, I started out in percussion. I just so happened to become the drum major because it's what I wanted to do. Plus I get to be in charge of people and if they piss me off I can hit them with my baton.”

“Don't let our size fool you,” Pidge warned, and Keith laughed. “We don't let people walk all over us. We’ll end you.”

“Pidge will end you,” Matt corrected. “I'm the nice Holt and I'll spare your life. Maybe.”

Keith was surprisingly having a fantastic time sitting with the Holts, and the game hadn't even started. But then it did, and he wasn't even close to being prepared to Matt and Pidge _combined_ when it came to cheering.

The Lions were kicking _ass_ , and while it was unfortunate for the other team since it was their homecoming, the team was on fire. Pidge was perched on Matt’s shoulder, both bellowing out excitedly. Even Keith was leaping to his feet from time to time.

His eyes, however, couldn't seem to leave the number 21. Even if Lance was on the sidelines taking a water break, Keith was watching Lance pace eagerly as he waited and cheered for the boys still on the field.

Lance was… incredibly skilled. Keith didn't have to be watching from up high to see that. He was quick, agile. The last game hadn't been some sort of fluke. Lance practically danced when he ran. His movements were so smooth and calculated, and if he was being passed a ball he somehow caught it _every time._ Even if the throw was shitty.

The lions were 28-13 by halftime, and Keith was just as hyped up as the Holts. The home team band came out and they played their piece before letting their homecoming queens and princesses take the field for their crowning. Pidge chattered to Matt across him.

“Dude, did you see that throw from Shiro? It was beautiful. I would marry that throw if I could,” Pidge rambled.

“I would marry Shiro,” Matt smirked. “Oh wait, I can!”

“You're honestly the worst, you know that?”

Matt shrugged and Keith snorted slightly. Pidge rolled her eyes and soon the team was trailing back onto the field to warm up for the second half. Allura and her squad were stretching again and Keith noticed Matt glancing repeatedly back and forth between the two.

The second half was… not going as well as the first. The home team managed to score two touchdowns and they were headed toward their fourth as the third quarter ended. Luckily a defensive end tackled the quarterback and the Lions got a turnover on downs as the third quarter buzzer rang out.

“What happened to them?” Keith asked.

“I don't even know. But they need to get their shit in gear,” Pidge almost growled. “We’re losing by an entire touchdown and I am not happy.”

Matt stared in stony silence and Keith heard Allura yell out louder than everyone else, “Let's go, Lions! Kick some ass!”

“Allura!” Her coach scolded.

Allura simply shrugged at the woman and Matt snorted slightly. Keith turned his attention back to the game. He watched as Shiro threw a ball as he was getting tackled that was headed for Lance but it landed at the boy’s feet instead. Shiro stood up shaking his head, dusting himself off. Lance walked up to him and patted his padded shoulder. Shiro nodded silently and Keith wandered what the exchange was about.

The seconds ticked down under there was a half a minute left. The Voltron Lions had the ball and they were 36 yards from the touchdown on the fourth down. They were down by two points. Even if they were to get a field goal from where they were, they would win. Keith clenched his fists as the huddle dispersed. The team jogged to their positions and Keith heard Pidge give a gasp of excitement.

“They're going for a field goal,” Pidge said, placing her hands together.

“Come on, Rolo. You can do this,” Matt mumbled quietly to himself.

Hunk hiked the ball to the holder and Rolo ran towards him, ready to kick the ball. When he did, everything seemed to slow down for Keith. The ball slowly rotated toward the goal and Keith felt Matt basically vibrating the bleacher beneath him. The ball curved slightly and soared by the goal post poles. Unfortunately, the ball did not soar between the posts. In turn, not scoring any points.

The final buzzer sounded out and the last score was 40-42 with the home team winning. Keith felt his heart sink and he saw Lance’s helmet dip a little. He frowned and Pidge looked ready to climb over the gate and throttle _someone_ , Keith wasn't sure who.

“We _lost_?! Are you kidding me? That call was shit, ref! Can't you fucking see that was offsides?” Pidge shouted and Keith had to physically restrain her from not attacking anyone.

“Pidgey, come on,” Matt grumbled. “Let's just go. Not worth it.”

“But-”

“I'm sure Shiro, Lance, and Hunk are gonna be pretty bummed so let's go be with them, yeah?”

Pidge sighed angrily and shoved herself out of Keith’s arms before stalking toward the exit gate for the field. Matt trailed after her and nearly left Keith behind. They waited for the players they wanted to see without speaking to each other. Coran had taken the players to talk to them down in the endzone. Allura silently joined them, linking her hand with Matt’s. He sighed impatiently.

“Come on, Coran. What are you freaking saying? You can talk on the bus,” Pidge mumbled.

However, after she said that, the team was released from their huddle and started walking toward the people standing by the gate. Shiro was one of the first ones to come stalking up to the small group, immediately getting a greeting kiss from Matt and Allura.

“I still think you did great, babe,” Allura said, giving him a cautious smile.

Shiro gave a sad smile back, “You always think I do great.”

“That's because you're always great!” Matt stated, and the taller boy to laugh.

“Thanks, guys.”

“You did do pretty good though, Captain,” Hunk agreed, joining the group. He crossed his arms, “Not our fault the refs suck.”

“Thank you!” Pidge said, loudly gesturing to Hunk. “I can't even count how many plays they totally screwed us over on.”

“I know! I was getting so angry!”

“Me too!”

Keith half heartedly listened to the two ranting about the refs and doing his best to ignore the sappiness of the trio next to him. He was actively trying to not look around for Lance. He didn't want to admit that he was kind of looking forward to seeing him. He heard Lance call something to one of the players and Keith felt his own heartbeat pickup.

“Hey, guys. What's-” Lance’s question was stalled as he laid eyes on Keith. “Keith?”

“Hey.”

The group continued talking around them and Lance around to stand next to him. He opened his mouth to say something to him but Hunk interrupted.

“You okay, Lance?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Lance,” Shiro scolded, slightly. “We all know you beat yourself up after we lose, despite it never being purely your fault.”

“Ah but you admit that a bit of it _was_ my fault.”

“Well yeah. Some of it was mine too and some of it was Hunk’s,” Shiro paused, looking at the boy with a yellow bandana on his head. “Well actually Hunk didn't do anything wrong.”

Hunk beamed and Pidge giggled at Lance’s slight pout. Lance mumbled, “Always getting scolded by Dad.”

“Dad?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah, we all call him Dad as a joke. He totally acts like one,” Hunk replied.

“I do not!”

“You can be my-” Matt started with a smirk but stopped when Allura put a hand over his mouth.

“Let’s not do that here.”

“Ew! Ew, that's so gross!” Pidge shrieked.

The group laughed at her discomfort and Lance leaned toward Keith, their shoulders touching briefly. Pidge and Hunk continued talking about the game and Shiro, Allura, and Matt carried on being gross. Lance took this chance to finally speak to Keith.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well don't sound too disappointed, football boy,” Keith crossed his arms.

“I’m not! I'm actually really happy you're here. I just,” Lance rambled, quickly. He blushed, “it's a good surprise.”

“I was kind of dragged here, honestly. Pidge and Matt showed up at my house.”

“You gave Pidge your number before you gave it to me?” He pouted.

“I didn't _give_ Pidge anything. She hacked the school’s mainframe and got my number and address.”

“Impressive.”

“That's what I said.”

Lance smiled, “So how'd I do?”

“You were okay.”

“Excuse me?”

“You weren't Hunk good.”

“Thanks, mate,” Hunk said, smiled. Keith beamed and he saw Lance pouting.

“How can you even compare me to Hunk?You literally cannot compare our positions!”

Keith shrugged, turning and biting back a laugh, “You totally missed that one pass that Shiro made just for you.”

“Which one? The one that was at my freaking feet? Come on! You _know_ that throw was shit.”

“Hey!” Matt protested. “Every throw he has is perfect.”

“Yeah, if my feet had fingers to catch.”

“That throw was kind of bad,” Allura agreed. “But in his defense, he was in the midst of getting tackled to the ground.”

There were murmurs of agreement and Coran gave a five minute warning for the bus. Hunk immediately started to hurry back with Pidge following him, continuing their previous conversation. Shiro, Matt, and Allura walked towards the buses too and that left Keith and Lance. Keith opened his mouth to say goodbye but Lance spoke first.

“You don't really think I did bad, did you?” He asked, softly, almost childlike.

Keith looked over at him to find sadness in his eyes, despite the pretend neutral face he was trying to hold. Keith’s heart melted a little.

“No, of course not. You did great, buddy,” Keith reached to touch his shoulder in comfort. “Nobody else could have caught that throw Shiro gave when you scored the first touchdown.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Keith smiled. “I'm just messing with you when I say you're a bad player, Lance. You're my favorite player to watch.”

Lance smirked and Keith knew that he had messed up, “Keith Kogane, are you _flirting_ with me?”

“I hate you.”

“But I'm your favorite player to watch.”

“No, you're the worst and I hate you.”

“Aww, Keithy-boy,” Lance laughed as Keith turned to walk away from him.

“Literally hate you so much.”

Lance reached for his sleeve and Keith moved back toward him. He was crushed in a quick hug and it would have been way more enjoyable is Lance wasn't covered in sweat. The football player seemed to remember that and quickly released Keith. Lance blushed slightly.

“Sorry. Kind of forgot I was all sweaty,” he scratched at the back of his head. “But um, thanks.”

“No problem,” Keith smiled. “You're a great player, dude. Don't let a few mess ups get you down.”

“Yeah, you're right.”

“Wrap it up with your boyfriend, McClain,” Coran called and Keith gave a small blush.

“I'm not his boyfriend, Coran!”

“Not yet,” Lance mumbled almost unintelligibly.

“What?” Keith said as Lance ran passed him.

“Gotta catch the bus! Bye! Thanks for coming!”

Keith blinked at the boy as he tossed his stuff into the trailer and ran onto the bus. The bus started moving and Keith saw Lance hanging out the window, waving at him. Keith waved back with a small giggle and he was forcibly pulled back into the bus. He turned to find Pidge and Matt staring at him with almost identical smirks on their faces.

“What?” Keith asked.

“Idiots,” Matt rolled his eyes.

“The both of them,” Pidge agreed.

“What?!”

Pidge snorted, “Nothing. Come on.”

“There's a band competition tomorrow so we've got to get going to I can get some sleep tonight,” Matt agreed as they start walking to the car.

“You want to come?” Pidge asked Keith. “We’re all going to be there.”

“Um, sure.”

Keith was almost surprised at his immediate response. He looked at Pidge’s smile and he decided it was worth it. Maybe having friends again wouldn't be too bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! This month has been a bit crazy. Hence the lack of updates. But now we're actually going to try for biweekly on Sundays. But if we don't follow through with that, we're terribly sorry.  
> Krys wants to say that she didn't write much of this chapter but she definitely wrote like a third of it? She's currently been in Sheith hell but still. Anyway, have a good day! Hope you liked the chapter!  
> You can find Shan's tumblr [here](http://babywerepurrfect.tumblr.com). And Krys' tumblr [here](http://paladincoolcats.tumblr.com).


	3. who i used to be (somewhere in between)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess what the hecking heck, y'all. We're alive and back to writing so here's a chapter that half of was still in out drafts for like a year now... Sorry. Anyway enjoy!

Keith could hear his phone ringing. He blindly reached for it and blearily opened his eyes, groaning as he saw the time. 7:30. In the  _ morning on a weekend.  _ He answered it anyway.

“It is too early on a Saturday for you to be calling me.”

“Well good morning, Sunshine,” Pidge said, perkily and Keith was pretty sure he could  _ hear _ her smirk. There was shouting in the background, “You need to be ready in approximately 30 minutes so that we can go to the competition.”

“Oh, right. The band thing. What do I get for being dragged there?”

“Okay one, you said you'd go last night and two, I’ll bring you an energy drink.”

“Deal.”

Pidge gave a slight snort before she hung up the phone. He groaned loudly before a small voice in the back of his head that reminded him that Lance was going to be there. His heart thumped but he pushed the feeling away because he refused to admit just how sweet and handso-  _ nope. _ Not thinking about it either. Getting out of bed, he turned the music on his phone on, connecting it to his bluetooth stereo. His aunt worked on Saturday mornings so he didn’t have to worry about it being too loud. 

As quickly as he could manage with his slightly longer hair, he showered. Unlike the rest of him, he put a lot of care into his hair. It was always so dry that if he didn’t condition it properly it’d frizz.  With a towel he vigorously dried his hair before yanking a comb through it and and pulling on a pair of jeans. It took a bit of contemplation as he eyed his messy closet, trying to decide if he wanted to go casual or slightly nicer. However, he realized that he  _ never  _ put so much thought into what he would wear as he was doing that moment, and it was all because of  _ McClain.  _ So blindly, he reached for a black shirt to pull over his head before stopping his movements. Over on his desk was a grey sweatshirt, one his aunt had bought for him but one he’d never worn, and he went to reach for it. It had  _ Voltron Lions _ written on the front of it with green and black lettering. He smiled in spite of himself and pulled it on - team spirit and all that shit. 

His favorite boots, black combat boots, had seemed to vanish without a trace, so he had to search for those for a good ten minutes. When he finally located them where they’d been kicked under his bed and yanked them onto his feet, his phone was buzzing in his pocket. Clumsily he dug it out and glanced at the notification on the screen.

**Hope you’re ready because Shiro and Allura refuse to wait any longer.**

A horn honked outside almost as soon as he read the message. Dumbly he glanced out the window, even though he knew it’d be his friends, and Pidge waved at him from where she was hanging out of the car. Laughing at her, he raced to the entryway and grabbed his house key from the key hook before he slipped out the front door. He locked it behind him, jiggling the knob just to be sure, and hurried out to the waiting car that Pidge had crawled back inside of. Almost immediately he was grateful for the sweatshirt, as the fall morning was rather chilly. He slid into the back with Pidge and he barely was able to shut the door before Allura was backing out of his driveway. 

“Here,” Pidge said, offering him a red can.

“Thanks, dude.”

“Keith, good to see you again,” Shiro turned in his seat to smile at him, and oddly enough was offering him out two granola bars; one chocolate chip and the other almond. “Pidge is giving you trash to drink, so please soothe my conscious and eat these too.” 

“Uh… thanks?” Keith hesitantly took the granola bars with a small smile. “Good to see you, too. I haven’t ever been to a band competition before.”

Keith opened both his drink and his chocolate chip granola bar, and Shiro nodded in satisfaction.

“Well our boy is going to rock it,” Allura beamed.

Keith nodded and smiled. It was nice to see the affection the two of them had for Matt. He was catching on quickly that the three together were the definition of heart eyes; supporting each other, cheering each other on, and over all loving each other. 

“Lance and Hunk are going to meet us at the competition,” Pidge said, looking at her phone. “Apparently Lance just got out of the shower.”

“Glad that was decided because I'd leave his ass.”

“Lance takes forever to get ready,” Shiro explained to Keith. “Something about-”

“Never mess with the beauty guru,” Pidge and Allura said in unison with him, causing them all to laugh.

“Sounds like Lance,” Keith snorted.

“He's got a thirty minute moisturizing routine both in the morning and in the evening,” Pidge announced. “And if either are interrupted then you'll get to hear about. Something about how large pores and being in a helmet all the time make for a terrible complexion.”

Allure nodded in confirmation. However, Pidge shifted away from the topic of Lance and started in on some new conspiracy theory she had discovered about aliens and outer space. Keith was immediately intrigued. Space, the paranormal,  _ cryptids.  _ He'd always been a large fan. 

“Listen. Bigfoot is out there,” Keith informed Pidge seriously. “And he's really fucking good at hiding.”

“Hell yeah he is!” Pidge gave Keith a friendly shoulder punch. 

“First off, language,” Shiro admonished as he turned around in the passenger seat, his eyebrows raised at the two in the backseat. “Secondly, what the hell?” 

“You can't tell us to watch our language and then swear,” Pidge declared, leaning forward and trying to cover Shiro’s face with her small hand. 

“I'm older.” 

“By three years! Or in Keith’s case, two!  _ Dad.”  _

“I will turn this car around!” Allura announced, but she laughed and took Shiro’s hand in her own. “Your intentions were good, babe. But Pidgey is far less innocent than she seems.” 

Keith could only laugh, a genuine laugh rather than his usual chuckle. The people in the car with him truly were like their own little family, and Keith… Keith had his own family of course. He had his aunt and his uncle and he loved them. Sometimes he just… felt a large hole in his heart that desired to be filled. The past few times he'd been with Pidge, Lance, and Hunk… with Shiro, Matt, and Allura… he could hardly tell the hole was even there. 

The trip was only about 30 minutes, due to the fact that it was simply in a neighboring town. Allura parked in nearly the very front row upon arrival, as there didn’t seem to be many cars at the school and field yet. Keith gave Pidge a short glance. 

“We normally get a here a few hours before they actually perform,” she explained.

“Because if we get here early enough, we can sneak in to see Matt,” Allura smiled, adjusting her large sunglasses. 

Shiro beamed, giving Keith a thumbs up with his non-prosthetic, “Come on. We’re still early enough to get the good seats.”

“The good seats are the ones right up in front so that Matt can see us,” Pidge rolled her eyes as she trailed after them.

Shiro and Allura walked quickly to the entrance, paying for their tickets. Keith and Pidge slowly moved behind them. Pidge said that they didn’t need to catch up to them because they were probably going to find Matt anyway. They were just going to find seats and watch the techies scramble around the field for last minute corrections and minor adjustments. It was apparently one of Pidge’s favorite parts of these things. Keith gave a small laugh as he followed her through the small crowd of people that were started to form near the entrance as parents began arriving. Pidge walked and climbed up a few steps before sitting in the middle of the bleachers. She looked around, squinting her eyes. They moved down a few steps and Pidge looked out to the field. 

“Good?” Keith questioned.

“It has to be perfect for them because too low, they can’t see Matt. Too high or far away, Matt can’t see them. And it has to be right in the middle because Matt is going to stand on a podium in that general area,” Pidge explained pointing. Keith raised an eyebrow as she continued, “It’s a simple technique and that way I can minimize the amount of time that Shiro and Allura whine about how they can’t see my tiny brother.”

“Your brother is still taller than you are.”

“We Holts are tiny creatures.”

Keith laughed as they settled into their seats. Shiro, however, pulled off the hoodie he was wearing to drape across two seats for Hunk and Lance. It was then that Keith noticed Shiro’s shirt, and he snorted. 

“The Voltron Lion’s Drum Major Has My Heart,” Keith read. It was black letter inside a giant green heart plastered on both the front and back of Shiro’s white t-shirt. It was even more obvious on the front of the shirt where Shiro’s chest stretched the material. 

“Yeah,” Pidge groaned. “Allura, show him yours.”

The girl happily and proudly obliged, pulling the hoodie wore up to show she wore an exact match of Shiro’s shirt, “We’re never ashamed to show love for our favorite boy.”

“Very true,” Shiro agreed. “I don't get to watch him play much, he's always playing for me while I’m on the field. I love competitions like these so I can come support him. He's so great at what he does.” 

The amount of pride in Shiro’s voice made even Keith feel warm. It may have been embarrassing to be around, but Keith knew immediately the two didn't do it to be corny. Their shirts were genuine, and Keith was prepared to fight anyone who dared poke fun. 

Gradually, the seats around them began to fill up, and Keith realized that Shiro was wise in saving Lance and Hunk spots. Keith was seated on the very end of the row with Pidge beside him, and with anyone else Keith felt that if he were to be with any other group of friends that they’d completely forget he was on the end, that they’d get so invested in talking with each other that he’d accidentally be pushed out. However, it wasn’t the case. Shiro and Allura both made a point to lean forward and constantly make sure Keith was in the conversation, and if the two were talking to each other, then Pidge would turn and engage in a conversation with Keith. 

Eventually, bands began making their way onto the field to perform, and Lance and Hunk were still missing. It was actually slightly concerning, Keith figured they didn’t want to miss Matt’s performance. Even Allura seemed to be getting antsy as another band exited the field and the crowd began chatting once more.

“I’ll knock their heads together if they don’t show in time.” 

And then, a loud voice from the bleacher steps behind them had Keith twisting in startled surprise. 

“The party has arrived!” 

“The party can leave,” Keith replied without much thought. 

Pidge gave a surprised bark of laughter, one she had to quickly muffle as another band made their way out onto the field. 

The group turned to see Lance, with Hunk trailing behind him and looking heavily unamused, trampling down the stairs. Pidge nudged Keith gently, “Switch me spots for a bit so I can  _ drag  _ him?” 

“Deal.” 

Hunk and Lance got to their row and Lance was beaming, almost happy that he was annoying Hunk. Keith had to try not to roll his eyes. Of course Lance would be satisfied with being annoying. They sat down, Lance sitting next to Pidge and Hunk sitting on the outside. The group watched the band play, not trying to exchange greeting seeing trying to talk over a marching band was kind of an impossible task. About seven minutes later, the music ended and applause sounded around the field for the band. They quickly cleared off the field in order to make time still and it gave the group the chance to talk again. 

“You guys are pretty freaking late. I’m pretty sure that we’re after this next band up,” Pidge stated.

“That would be Lance’s fault.”

“You couldn’t find a parking spot!” Lance protested.

“Because you made us so late!” Hunk argued back.

“You made me walk forever!”

Keith rolled his eyes and Hunk turned to Pidge and him in order to continue his point of the argument. They all knew Lance was in the wrong but still.

“He kept saying ‘Hunk, everybody is there. We’ll have good seats. It’ll be fine.’ all while not hurrying up!” Hunk sighed at his best friend.

“This amount of beauty takes time,” Lance argued. The boy was wearing a thin Voltron’s t-shirt despite the chilly morning and a pair of very tight jeans. However, his hair did indeed seem quite voluminous. 

“You might want to go for more time,” Pidge mumbled and Keith snorted.

“Okay, wow. Rude.”

“Shut up, shut up,” Allura ushered. “They’re about to start.”

“Well then. But yeah, I’m actually freezing in this shirt so-”

“ _ Shut. Up,”  _ Allura hissed once more, leaning around Pidge and Keith to glare. Shiro’s hand gently guided her back soothingly, but he shot Lance a very fatherly like warning look as well, and Lance pouted.

“Introducing the Voltron Marching Lions,” the announcer echoed around the field. Matt stood on his podium, stiffly turning to look toward the announcer’s box, “Drum Major, is your band ready?”

Matt nodded and the announcer told them that they may begin. Matt turned back to the band and raised his arms, causing the band to lift their instruments as well. The music started off slow but quickly made it’s way to being upbeat. Keith watched as the color guard threw their sabers and rifles in the air and he wondered how they caught them every time. He didn’t know who to concentrate on. He didn’t ever get the chance to decide because Matt was jumping up and down, urging the rest of the band to jump up and down in response. 

“Woo!” Shiro yelled loudly. “Go Matt!”

The band stopped playing and everyone froze. Keith moved to clap, only stopping when brightly colored flags began flying all across the field. Even in places that Keith didn’t realize a guard member was. He stared wide eyed at the performance and almost didn’t react when Lance nudged his shoulder. When he did look over to the boy, Lance immediately pointed at Hunk. The poor boy was the  _ definition  _ of starry eyed in that moment. He was watching one of the girls with short brown hair and a green outfit with a large yellow V that stretched across her chest and over her shoulders. She was tall and incredibly muscular. 

“Who is that?” Hunk asked, airily.

“That's Shay,” Pidge stated. “She's in my tech class.”

“She could snap me in half with one hand. I dig that.”

Keith was prepared to glare, but no one else seemed fazed by Lance’s comment. Pidge looked at Hunk and a large smirk formed on her face. Keith wasn't sure what she was planning but he wanted in. 

“She's beautiful,” Hunk sighed dreamily.

“Awe!” Lance said, excitedly. “Hunk’s in love!”

“Shut up!”

Pidge and Lance giggled into each other as Hunk blushed, still staring at Shay. Pidge spoke again, “I can introduce you.”

“I need to tell her that she is beautiful,” he said, still dreamily. “She needs to be told everyday.”

“I’ll introduce you.” 

“Yeah,” Lance sighed as Shiro, Allura, and Pidge all stood to go greet Matt. “On another note though, I’m still freezing my ass off so-” 

A hoodie flew through the air, smacking Lance in the face, and Allura stood with her hands on her hips, “I’m genuinely going to decapitate you, Lance. Stop whining.” 

“We needed to show our shirts anyway,” Shiro soothed. “Now we can support our boy  _ and  _ shut Lance up.”

She marched off again, and Lance blinked a few times before simply shrugging the hoodie on happily. Pidge snorted, following Shiro and Allura as they headed out of the bleachers. Much to Keith’s surprise, Lance all but grabbed his elbow and dragged him and Hunk after the three. It had grown much closer to noon than Keith had realized with the day still being so chilly, and as they walked toward the gate that exited out to where the bands met up to change from their uniforms and relax, Keith could smell the concession stand food and realized just how hungry he was. 

They soon found themselves in a fairly long concession stand line. Allura and Shiro were discussing the band and why they were going to get points taken off. They estimated their point value and it started to make Keith’s brain start to hurt so he stopped paying attention to them. He turned his attention to Lance and Hunk who were discussing a video game they had started playing last night. 

“I wonder if we were to just run and jump over his shots?”

“No, because we tried that and we immediately died,” Hunk shot down.

“Well we tried going through the bushes but that didn’t work.”

“What game are you two talking about?” Keith injected.

“Ocarina of Time. We couldn’t figure out how to get to the forest temple.”

“You mean that big brown guy?”

“The Moblin, yes. We can’t get passed him.”

Keith stared at them for a second, “What?”

“What do you mean what?”

“Just run past him,” he deadpanned.

“You don’t have to fight him?”

“No. Just run past him.”

“How do you get around his shots?!”

“Zig zag around them.”

Hunk and Lance looked at each other for a moment before laughing. Hunk snorted, “I guess that’s what we get for playing Zelda until 4 in the morning.”

Keith joined in on the laughter and they continued discussing the game until they had reached the beginning of the concession line. Lance ordered a bag of popcorn and a blue powerade, Hunk followed up with a tray of nachos, candy, and a Dr. Pepper, Keith hesitated for a moment before just ordering a Mountain Dew and meeting back up with them. Lance gave him a weird look for a second before following the rest of the group back to their seats. They watched a few more bands until their category was done and Allura and Shiro took off before anything could be said to them. Keith looked to Pidge for an answer.

“They always meet Matt at the gate when they get released,” she explained, causing Keith to give an understanding nod. 

They followed them down to the gate. Allura and Shiro were eagerly looking around for their boyfriend. Shiro pointed and all Keith could see was a head bobbing and weaving through the crowd in order to get close to them. Matt finally emerged from the crowd and all but ran over to them. He was sweating with his face flushed. Shiro and Allura reached for him and they hugged for a few seconds before they released Matt. The drum leader took Shiro’s prosthetic arm and guided it to his forehead, giving a satisfied sigh. Keith gave out a small laugh.

“My arm is always cold since it’s metal. He uses it to cool himself down after band competitions,” Shiro explained. 

“It’s  _ freezing _ out here!” Lance whined.

“I was just running around on a field!” Matt protested.

“Yeah, it’s never cold after we’ve been on the field. No matter the temperature,” Hunk said, stuffing a nacho in his mouth.

Lance shrugged in agreement, “Yeah, I guess that’s fair.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “So when do we get to know scores and stuff?”

“Fairly soon,” Allura said. “Matt’s group was the last category and they should be deciding scores now. And soon we can go out to eat.”

“We always go to the Voltron diner after big competitions,” Pidge told Keith. “It’s tradition.”

“Oh wow. I haven’t been there since I was a kid,” Keith gave a small smile. “My parents and I used to go there every Sunday.”

The group was silent and Keith immediately felt awkward for oversharing. He gave a small gulp and opened his mouth to apologize but Lance was clapping him on the back and speaking over him. 

“Well you can join in our tradition. We go after competitions, on birthdays, and to celebrate Christmas.”

“It’s true. Coran’s wife owns it so they shut it down a little early so we can have our little Christmas get together,” Allura continued with a smile.

Hunk excitedly nodded, “And they always let me cook our dishes back there and I love that kitchen more than life itself.”

While they had been talking, Pidge had slipped away from the group to go looking for Shay. She wasn’t exactly the hardest person to find, just difficult to keep track off. Everyone seemed to want her attention so Pidge had to keep following her around in hopes of talking to her. Pidge eventually ran up in front of her and held her hands out. Shay looked at her confused for a second.

“You’re very hard to keep track of,” Pidge explained.

“Oh right. Sorry about that,” she gave a slight laugh. “How are you, Pidge?”

“Good. You did great job out there.”

“Thanks! I thought I had really messed it up during the end of it.”

“Your stumble was barely noticeable and you recovered very well.”

“Thanks,” she blew out a sigh of relief.

“Anyway, the main reason I came over was because,” a sly smile spread itself across Pidge’s face. “You know Hunk, right?”

“Yeah! Who doesn’t know Hunk?”

“What’s your opinion of him?”

“He’s a big sweetheart and he’s pretty cute,” she blushed. “Why are you asking me this?”

“No reason. I just like to meddle,” Pidge peeked around her to look at her group of friends. “Want to come with me for a second?”

“Your face has me wanting to say no.”

Pidge simply laughed, “Come on.”

Shay followed Pidge back over to her group of friends. Lance made eye contact with Pidge and smirked. He turned Hunk around so he couldn’t see who was walking behind Pidge. They walked up to the group and Matt smiled to Shay.

“Hey, Shay! Good work today!” He said, excitedly.

“Thanks! You too!”

“Yeah, you did really good on those fundamentals that Sasha was working with you on. You really stepped it up,” Allura complimented.

“Oh wow, thank you! I’ve been working really hard on that.”

The entire time she had been talking, Hunk had been staring dreamily at her. Lance punched him to knock him out of his daze and he was about 80% sure he had broken his hand. Shiro asked if he was alright and Lance gave him a whine along with a thumbs up. 

“You know everybody in the group right,” Matt asked. “Shiro and Allura are my groupies along with my boyfriend and girlfriend; Pidge is my little sister; and that’s Keith, Lance, and Hunk.”

“Hi, everyone. It’s nice to see you all again. We appreciate your support.” 

“It was a really good show,” Allura added in. “I liked the backhanded catch that you did for the finale.”

“Shay was the only girl that was able to even do that!” Matt said, excitedly. “She had to lead an entire class on it!”

“H-how did you know that?”

“Coach told me.”

“Wow, that’s really cool!” Lance cut in. “You think you could teach me?”

“I can try?” Shay said, questioningly. 

“Probably couldn’t teach Lance how to catch a football backhanded,” Pidge coughed under her breath to Keith.

“I already know how to catch a football backhanded!” Lance shouted at her.

“Do you though? Are you sure?” Keith questioned.

Lance looked between Keith and Pidge, pointing between the two of them, “I don’t like this new development.”

“Unfortunate,” Pidge deadpanned.

Keith gave a small giggle as Lance pouted. Matt stated that they needed to get back to their band mates and they would meet up later. Shiro and Allura kissed their boyfriend on his cheeks before sandwiching him in a hug. Pidge gave her brother a hug as well before the group turned away. Hunk stepped away from the group to grab Shay by the wrist, quickly letting go when he had her attention. 

“Hey, Shay?”

“Yeah?” She turned to Hunk’s touch. 

“I just wanted to let you know that you’re beautiful. And you deserve to be told everyday,” he said straight face without a blush or anything. “And I want to be the one to tell you everyday.”

“O-Okay, thank you,” Shay was pretty sure her entire body flushed pink.

“I’ve got to go meet up with everyone. But I wanted to tell you.”

Shay nodded for fear of the stutter that she knew would come out of her mouth. She watched Hunk run to catch up with his friends and Keith turned back to give Shay a small smile. Soon after, they got the scores back and to no one’s surprise, their school won first in their category and were carrying on to the next round. However since it was so late in the day and so cold, they were having to postpone the finals for a later date. They met back up with Matt at the gates and talked briefly before deciding to head for the diner. Pidge and Hunk had started to sneak away while Lance was talking to Keith. When they started running, Keith pointed them out.

“Isn’t Hunk your ride?” 

“Yeah? He-” Lance turned toward where he was pointing. “Those assholes!”

Keith started laughing as Lance took off running. Shiro, Matt, and Allura starting laughing as well. Shiro mentioned, “they always do this. They almost always come back for him.”

“Almost?”

“Yeah, Hunk is too big of a sweetheart to actually leave anyone behind,” Allura finished giggling into her hand. 

“You riding with us then?” Matt questioned.

“Looks like it,” Keith shrugged, beginning to follow the group. 

A golden mini van rounded the corner as they were halfway through the parking lot with Lance hanging out the sliding door. He smiled to Keith, “Hey, you with us or them?”

Keith looked to Shiro and saw a smile that he had only seen in his father, a knowing fatherly smile. He looked back to Lance, giving him a small smile.

“I’m with you."

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is our first Klance fic together. We both grew up in a small town and football has been my entire life for basically my entire life. So we figured, why not Klance it up? - Shan  
> I liked football enough. Mainly went for the food, honestly. The game was just a bonus. The halftime show was my shit though. - Krys  
> Also we're going to try for an update every other week because Krys works full time (literally around the clock with a baby that isn't hers. *side eyed emoji*) and I work part time and go to school. So if the updates are a bit slow, we're sorry. We kind of have to be adults. - Shan (again)  
> You can find Shan's tumblr [here](http://babywerepurrfect.tumblr.com). And Krys' tumblr [here](http://paladincoolcats.tumblr.com).


End file.
